1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle suspensions and in particular to rear suspensions with lateral control arms and space efficient shock packaging.
2. Disclosure Information
In conventional motor vehicle suspensions, rear shock absorbers and struts are mounted vertically for a variety of reasons. The shock absorbers and strut assemblies are usually attached to structure located behind the rear seats. The interior volume of the trunk is only minimally impacted by this design feature, as the trunk region immediately behind the seats is difficult to access. On the other hand, vehicles such as sport utility vehicles, station wagons and vans all seek to provide low, flat load floors. Additionally, consumers of these vehicles place a premium on total cargo volume as well as on the width of the load floor. For this reason, vehicle manufacturers have provided rear suspensions having the shock absorbers tilted from the vertical so as to reduce their overall vertical intrusion in the vehicle while maintaining desirable shock travel. However, the tilted shock absorbers still place limits on how low the load floor can be positioned within the vehicle.
It would be desirable to provide a suspension capable of using a shock absorber in a vertical configuration as well as one that would allow the shock absorber to be oriented horizontally within the vehicle so as to allow a low load floor.